Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1887-02-12
A NATTER OF DEGREE
PUTS THE PRESIDENTS "Non TO THE
DEPENDENT PENSION BILL. e

Cost Also Urged Against H-1hirty-
Seven Millions for Defense.
WASHINGTON CITY, Feb. 12-lhe presi-
dent sent message to the house Friday We
tong the dependent pensions bill. He says
that the almost constant legislation since the
war has placed upon the pension rolls 3d5, IDS
pensioners of all classes, for whom s1500O,-
o10 have been appropriated for the current
year, and for whom SSGs, ga, Sll have been
expended from 1861 to 1886. 1t is now pro
posed to award service pensions to soldiers
Of all wars at the rate Of $l2 per month. 1t
exacts only service of three months, without
requiring engagement in battle or subsection
to any OF the actual dangers of war, The
pension is allowed to men who have suffered
no injury, loss or damage OF any
kind due 10 military servica and includes
those who never reached the front at ALL
The section of the bill allowing this pension
IS in language so uncertain as to be subject
TO un Just ana mischievous application. The
person seeking the pension must be suffering
mental or physical disability such as inca
FACILITATES them from the performance of
| labor iii such degree as TO render them un-
| able to earn support, and must be dependent
on daily labor for support
Passing on TO consideration of the pro-
| visions of the bill, the president adds:
1t will be observed that there is no limta-
ton OF definition of the incapacitating ill.,
| Jury or allmeat itself 1t need only be such
| a degree of disability from any cause as
renders the claimant unable to earn sup
| port by labor. IL seems to me that the sup
| port here mentioned as one which can not be
| earned is complete and entire support,
Of
| impairment of physical or mental condition
| If it had been intended to embrace only those
| Who by disease or i'll jury were totally unable
to labor, it would have been very easy
to express that idea instead
of recognizing, as is done, degree" of such
| inability,
What is a support. Who is to determine
whether man earns it or has it noti Is
| the government to enter the homes of claim
ants for pension, and after an examination
| of their surroundings and circumstances set
tie those questions! Shall the government say
| to one man that his manner of subsistence
| by his earnings is support, and TO another
that the things his earnings furnish are not a
support. ANY attempt, however honest,
| to administer the law in such a manner
would necessarily produce more unfairness
and unjust discrimination, and give more
| scope for partisan partiality, and would re-
suit in more perversion of the governments
| benevolent intentions than the execution of
any statute ought to permit If in the eff
| fort 10 carry out the proposed law the degree
| Of disability as related to earnings be con-
sidered for the purpose of showing if in any
way it cnrtails the support which the appli-
| cant, If entirely sound, would earn, and to
which he is entitled, We enter the broad field
| ioug occupied by the pension bureau, and
| We recognize as the only difference between
| the proposed legislation and previous laws
| passed for the benefit of the surviving SOL
diers of the civil war the incurrence in one
| case of disabilities in military service and in
the other disabilities existing, but in no way
| connected with or resulting from such serv-
| Ice.
| 1t must be borne in mind that in no case is
there any grading of this proposed pension.
| Under the operation of the rule first sug-
| sested if there is a lack in any degree, great
| Or small, of the ability 10 earn such sup
| port as the government determines the claim
ant should have, and by the application Of
the rule secondly suggested, if there is re
ductlon IN any degree OF the support which
be might earn if sound, he is entitled to a
pension Of SIP In the latter case, and under
the proviso of the proposed bill permitting
persons now receiving pensions to be ad-
| mitted to the benefits of the act ! do not see
how those now on the pension roll for dis
! abilities incurred in the service, and which
| diminish their earning capacity. can Re de
MED the pension provided in this bill.
Another condition required of claimants
under this act is that they shall be depend
| ant upon their daily labor for support"
Under the provisions of this section, any
soldier, the president thinks, whose faculties
of mind OF body have become impaired by
accident, disease, CT age, irrespective of his
| service in the army, and who by his labor
only is left Incapable of gaining the fair sup.
| port he might with uHimpaired powers
have provided for himself, and who
| IS not so well endowed with
this worlds goods as 10 live without work,
may claim TO participate in its bounty; that
it is not required that he should be without
property, but that labsr should be necessary
to his support in some degree, nor is it re,
quirei that hs should be now receiving sup
port from others Recent observation and
| experience consrrain the president to refer
10 another result sure to follow the passage
of the bill There can be no doubt be SAYS,
that the race after pensions offered by the
| bill would not only stimulate weakness and
pretended incapacity for labor but put q
further premium on dishonesty and men
| dacity.
More than this, while cost should not
be set against n patriotic duty or the
recognition of right, still, when measure
proposed is based upon generosity or motives
OF charity, 1t is not amss to mediate soma
what upon the expense it involves. Expert
ence, the president says, has demonstrated
that all estimates concerning the probable
future cost of pension list are uncertain
,l,l Al, 8, IL
realization, and in support of his assertion
says:
The chairman of the house committee on
pensions calculates that the number of pen.
sioners under the bill would he 80, l0,, anC
the increased cost 81 767, l20; this is upon tn.
theory that only those who are entirely un
able to work would be its benefciaries Sucl
was the principle of the revolutionary pen
sion law of ISIS, much more clearly stated
It seems TO me, than in this bill
The president then cites the pension bill O
ISIS, where the number of pensions was 20.
4o5 instead of 81 Us estimated and the ac
of 1853, where the estimated number of pen
sioners was 500 and the actual number 8, ~,
as illustrations Of the unrelIabiity Of snct
estimates.
Continuing with his objections to the bill
the president says:
If none should be pensioned under this bill
except those utterly unable to work, | an
satisfied that the cost stated in the estimate
referred to would be many tiI2as multiplied
and with constant increase from year t,
year, and if those PARTIALLY unable to carr
their support should be admitted to the priv
ileges of lhis bill, the probable increase o.
expense would be almost appalling.
/ think 1t may be said that at the close o
the war of the rebellion every northern
state and great majority of northern coun
ties and cities were burdened with taxation
Oh account of the large bounties paid our sol
dlers; and the bonded debt thereby created
still constitutes large item in the account o
the tax-gatherer against the people Fedora
taxatton-no less borne by the people thar
that directly levied upon their property
still maintained at the rate made necessary
by the exigencieS of war. If this bill SHOULD
become law, with its tremendous addition
Z to our pension obligation, am thorough,
convinced that further efforts to reduce tn
fedora revenue and restore some part of